A fuel injection valve for an internal combustion engine equipped with a fuel jet adjusting plate for atomizing injected fuel is conventionally known. The fuel jet adjusting plate has nozzle holes arranged along circles coaxial with a central axis of a valve body. This type of fuel injection valve for an internal combustion engine is disclosed, for instance, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. HEI 7-127550. This technology employs a large number of nozzle holes arranged along two circles coaxial with the central axis of the valve body.
FIG. 6 is a partial plan view of the fuel jet adjusting plate of the conventional fuel injection valve for an internal combustion engine. Referring to FIG. 6, reference character L0' denotes the central axis of the valve body, C1' a first circle coaxial with the central axis L0.degree. C2' a second circle coaxial with the central axis L0' and having a diameter larger than that of the first circle, H1' first nozzle holes arranged at predetermined intervals along the first circle C1', and H2' second nozzle holes arranged at predetermined intervals along the second circle C2'. FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line VI--VI in FIG. 6. Referring to FIG. 7, reference character 1' denotes the fuel jet adjusting plate, F1' fuel spray injected through the first nozzle holes H1', F2' fuel spray injected through the second nozzle holes H2', D1' a diameter of the first nozzle holes H1', and D2' a diameter of the second nozzle holes H2'. As can be seen from FIGS. 6 and 7, fuel flows toward the central axis L0' in a radially outside-to-inside direction as indicated by blank arrows and is then injected through the nozzle holes H2', H2'. The fuel jet adjusting plate atomizes the fuel thus injected.
However, the flow rate of fuel becomes higher in the radially outside-to-inside direction. Thus, if the diameter D1' of the first nozzle holes H1' is equal to the diameter D2' of the second nozzle holes H2', the fuel spray F2' injected through the second nozzle holes H2' is not atomized as suitably as the fuel spray F1' injected through the first nozzle holes H1'. In this case, the fuel spray F2' has a large particle diameter and may even take the shape of a column as illustrated in FIG. 7. Thus, it is impossible to suitably atomize the fuel spray F2', whereby the performance of an internal combustion engine on which the fuel injection valve is mounted deteriorates.